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Abstract
The main aim of this project is to find the effective compression ratio of direct injection (DI) single cylinder Variable Compression Ratio (VCR) diesel engine with respect to brake power, fuel economy and emissions through experimental investigations and design of experiments (DOE) method. The experiments are carried out with Pongamia Methyl ester biodiesel with different combinations like 10%, 15%, 20% under three levels and the responses brake power, fuel economy and emissions were investigated. The optimum values of the response could be predicted using Signal - Noise ratio(S/N ratio) and optimum combination of control parameters were specified. Using Taguchi method an inverted L9 orthogonal array has been utilized to determine the engine test trials layout. In order to maximize the performance of Pongamia Methyl ester biodiesel engine the signal to noise ratio (SNR) related to higher the-better (HTB) quality characteristics has been used. It is found that, at compression ratio of 18:1 for A20 blended fuel (20%PME+80%Diesel) shows better performance which is very close to neat diesel fuel. It is also found that the increase of compression ratio increases the BTE and reduces BSFC and having lower emission without any engine in design modifications.